Inner Fears
by Cagalli 27
Summary: AxC Oneshot. Pure Asucaga fluff. Cagalli's secret is revealed to a special someone. How does said person react? And can that someone help her?


**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEEED (DESTINY) OR ANYTHING ELSE FOR THAT MATTER.**

_Italics_ are flashbacks or thoughts.

**Bold** is shouting or onomatopoeia.

Hope you like it! : D

**Inner Fears**

A blonde haired princess was working on some papers on the rebuilding of Orb. The nation was left devastated after the second war. The Goddess of Victory let out a sigh and placed her pencil on top the stack of papers scattered on her desk. She leaned her head back and swung around in her swivel chair.

"I need a break." Cagalli stood up and opened the window in hopes of breathing in some fresh air, but the wind was bitter cold. She quickly shut the window. "Looks like rain." She looked down, noticing what she was wearing. She had forgotten, but was reminded when the cold air stung her legs.

"I can't believe I'm actually wearing this." Cagalli stated. She shook her head in disbelief. She examined the night gown she was wearing, given to her by her father. It hung tightly on her body, hugging her every curve. The gown was simple, yet elegant. It was a silky silver colored gown that glimmered in the light. Uzumi Nara Attha died a long time ago and she misses him so. She still remembers the day the gown was given to her.

Flashback

_"Uhh, thanks father." Cagalli hesitantly said as she held up the night gown against her body._

_ "I thought it would look very nice on you." Uzumi said. A huge smile plastered on his face._

"_I appreciate it, really, I do. It's just that I prefer shorts and a t-shirt. I don't wear dresses of any sort. Sorry father." Cagalli said, sadness and regret evident in her voice. Why didn't she just say thanks and leave it at that?_

_ "I, uh. That's okay. Although I really do think you'll look quite lovely in it." he pointed out. Uzumi's smile never faltered, not even for a bit. He quietly left Cagalli's room, closing the door softly behind him, but not before whispering "Night."_

End of Flashback

The only reason she wears it now is because it's one of the only things she can do that her father had wished. Cagalli laid down on her bed, her light still on.

**BOOM!**

Outside, lightning struck near the house. Cagalli let out a little "eep!" as rain pattered on the window sill. The light in her room began to flicker.

Cagalli snapped her head towards the light bulb hanging from her ceiling, begging it not to go out. The light continued to flicker on and off until the lights dimmed and switched off completely. Cagalli immediately jerked her head to the side, searching for some source of light. But even the moon and stars seemed to be faint, as if mocking her by taking away her only hope.

The blonde scurried to the door as quickly as possible to find the light switch. "Oww!" she screamed as she stubbed her toe on some unknown object. The princess of Orb hopped around one foot as she held onto the other, eyes closed to force back the oncoming tears.

Cagalli flung her hand out to where she believed the light switch was situated. She flipped the switch but when nothing happened she began to ferociously flip it. She began to mutter incoherent words on how the inanimate object was being stupid. She hobbled into the hall way wincing at the pain she still experienced.

She began to walk to the left to search for Kisaka. She immediately stopped and made her hand make contact to her forehead. Following that was a series of scolding given to her as she remembered that she gave everyone the day off, even Kisaka didn't stay. Cagalli slumped onto the ground. She hugged her knees and put her head down and just sat there solemnly.

The thing is, Cagalli is deathly afraid of the dark, always has been since she was fourteen. There was an incident involving her, Uzumi, and an assassin in the dark. The memory was somewhat fuzzy but she remembers parts of it clearly. An incident that would forever haunt her…

**Flashback**

"_Father? Why did the lights go off?" Cagalli inquired._

"_I don't know. I'll go and find out." Uzumi stood up from his seat and was about to open the door but it swung open before he got to it. Cagalli gasped as she saw a man dressed in all black. Even his hair was black. The man's piercing red eyes made her freeze in terror._

_Cagalli placed her hand over heart, clutching the cloth there. Her heart beat quickened as her breaths became short gasps. It felt as if this man had stuck his hand inside of her and squeezed her now rapidly beating heart.. "What do you want?" asked her father._

_A deep, hoarse voice answered back, "Isn't that obvious?" The man pulled out a sharp knife and the next thing she remembered was her father's lifeless body in her arms. His blood, all over her. She began to cry bitter tears. He died in her arms, gave his last breath in her arms, and spoke his last words in her arms._

**End of Flashback**

No one knows why the assassin appeared, other than for the most obvious reason. But it didn't seem like he was working for wnyone. He was found in a nearby field mentally insane. Doctors say is was from the trauma of killing, but it never was determined.

"Wait, isn't Athrun still here? Of course." Cagalli mumbled. He stayed -after some convincing—since it was late. Cagalli weakly stood up, her legs shaking. She began to walk down the corridor. One thing about being alone in the dark was that she would begin to hallucinate.

There was a scratching noise against the window caused by branches. She walked faster. She saw a shadow moving from the corner of her eye. She began to jog. Cagalli then heard slow footsteps behind her. She broke into a sprint toward Athrun's room. The door was at the end of the hall and in sight. The princess had forgotten all about her stubbed toe as she pumped her arms by her side willing herself to run faster.

Cagalli broke through the oak doors not carrying about slowing down. The door made a loud, wood cracking, thud when it hit against the wall. She ran around in search of Athrun. Until, of course, she ran into something.

"Umph." Cagalli grunted as she began to fall. She closed her eyes preparing to brace herself for the cold, hard, tile floor. But she never hit the ground. Instead, she felt two arms wrap around her slim waist. She slowly opened one eye as if to make sure that everything was alright. As soon as she did she snapped her other eye open. Cagalli saw a pair of emerald eyes gazing back into her auburn eyes. Even with the little amount of light provided form the stars, his eyes still seemed to glimmer.

"Cagalli?" the owner of the emerald eyes asked. "What are you doing here at this time of night? Shouldn't you been in bed?" He began to play the twenty questions game.

"Well the electricity went out and…I…uhh…I wanted to see if you were okay?" Cagalli stuttered as she asked it as more of a question then a statement. She wasn't sure he was going to buy it.

He gave her a knowing glance. He didn't buy it. She then noticed that his arms were still around her waist. She looked at him, then his arm, then back at him again. She began to blush like a school girl. Athrun gave her a puzzled look as if he didn't know why she kept glancing at him.

Cagalli gulped. _It's a good thing it's dark. Athrun can't see me blushing. If he saw it he'd ask why, probably thinking that I'm catching a fever or something. _**"Aaaaahhhhh!"** Cagalli shrieked as another boom of thunder rang throughout the room. The lightning flash lit up the room making some shadows to be made and seen.

Cagalli jumped forward wrapping her arms around Athrun and digging her head into his masculine chest. Her blush completely subsided. She began to mutter incoherent things about how Mother Nature was always cruel to her. Athrun could feel her shaking against him. One of his hands moved from her waist to her head.

"Are you okay?" He asked. He tenderly smoothed out her hair as a sign of comfort. She made no reply but only shivered more and tried to pull herself closer, if that was even possible. "Are you...scared?" Athrun pulled away from her a bit to see her face.

"N-n-n-no." Cagalli stuttered as she shook her head from left to right. Fear was visibly seen in her eyes.

"Cagalli, it's okay to be afraid. Everyone has a fear." Athrun stated reassuringly.

Cagalli rolled her eyes but remember that he couldn't see. She scoffed at his statement. "Everyone? What's your fear then?" Cagalli asked in disbelief. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, but placed them back around him when she thought she heard someone outside.

Athrun hesitated at bit but then let out a sigh. "Shots. I can't stand getting a needle stuck into me." Athrun shuddered. Just thinking about it sent a shiver down his spine. "But it's easier to face a fear with courage with someone close to you."

"No matter how hard I try, my fear just won't go away. I can't overcome it." Cagalli said. Branches began to scrape against the window and form strange figures. Athrun saw that her eyes were filled with fear and took a step closer to her.

"Cagalli, courage isn't freedom from fear; it's being afraid and still going on. There was a pause. I'm guessing you're scared of the dark?" Cagalli gave a small, shy nod. Athrun put his hand on her cheek and put his arm around her waist again. "I'm here for you, okay?"

"Thanks Athrun, for always being there for me." Cagalli began to blush when she noticed how close they actually were. She broke her gaze from him.

Athrun gave a small chuckle. "You know, you look really cute when you blush." This made Cagalli blush even more, which then made Athrun smile. He tilted her head towards him with his index finger. Cagalli cautiously turned her gaze toward him. Immediately, she became lost in his shimmering emerald eyes. And that smile of his, it seemed to just make her melt. It's a good thing he was holding her or else she would have fallen due to her weak knees.

_Is it just me or is his face looming closer to mine? _Cagalli thought.

Athrun somehow seemed to be pulled toward her sparkling golden orbs and her luscious lips. He knew what he was doing but couldn't stop it. This would be his first kiss, surprisingly. Unless giving Lacus a goodbye kiss on the cheek counted.

He was pretty sure that this was Cagalli's first kiss as well. He started to become nervous. _What if Cagalli doesn't want to kiss? She hasn't made any movement yet. Maybe I shouldn't. _Athrun tried to pull back, but couldn't. Instead, he continued to slowly lean in, close his eyes, and pull Cagalli a little closer to him. Cagalli let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Cagalli was frozen. Her eyes were rapidly moving, scanning Athrun's face and eyes, but they were closed. His face was still looming closer. Her heart beat picked up rapidly when she felt Athrun pull her closer. They were hardly an inch apart now. Their noses were touching and Cagalli could feel his warm breath on her lips. She slowly closed her eyes as their lips met.

An electric tingle was sent from her lips down her spine. She let out a groan of pleasure. She put her arms around his neck, accepting the kiss. Cagalli snapped her eyes open when she felt Athrun's tongue on her lips, asking for permission to enter. But she closed her eyes again as she slightly parted her lips. She moved her hands into his hair, soothingly playing with it. She could feel the corners of his lips rise into a smile. Their tongues wrestled as they tried to savor the moment they were sharing together.

Both Athrun and Cagalli were enjoying the taste of each other. _Being here with him, it just feels so right. I want to stay this way forever, in his arms._ Cagalli thought. Unfortunately, due to the laws of, well, life, they had to part to breathe.

"Do you want me to fix the lights?" Athrun asked. He put his forehead against hers while he asked the question. He gazed into her eyes, waiting for her reply. But there was none. She just continued to calmly breathe. He gave her a warm smile as he started to walk out of his room. Athrun stopped in his tracks when he felt Cagalli's hand grab his wrist.

"Wait," Cagalli mumbled. She let go of Athrun's wrist. "Stay, please."

"Hai." ('yes') Athrun gave her a small smile. "Come here." Athrun led her to the couch, gesturing her to sit down next to him. "I'll always be here for you Cagalli." She leaned her head on his shoulder, allowing Athrun to play with her hair. They stayed like that all night.

The Next Day

"Cagalli. Cagalliiii…Wake up." Athrun said as he gently shook her.

"Nani?" ('what') Cagalli gently rubbed her eyes. She let out a yawn as she stretched. She looked around, taking not of her surroundings._ Wait, this isn't my room. And why is Athrun here?_ Cagalli asked herself. Slowly the memories of last night came back to her. She blushed. Then looking at how she slept, which was on the couch in Athrun's arms, she blushed even more. But soon the blush subsided when she started to laugh.

Athrun gave her a quizzical look. "What's so funny?" he asked, one eye brow raised in question.

"You're… afraid… of…shots." Cagalli managed to say between laughs. She was gripping her stomach and letting her laughter out with no care in the world. Athrun began to join her. First it was a chuckle, then roaring laughter.

Cagalli stopped laughing. It was her turn to give him a questioning look. "What's wrong with you?" she asked. Athrun slowly stopped laughing. He wiped away a tear that had formed in his eye while he was laughing.

"No matter what you do, you just seem cuter and cuter in my eyes." Athrun wrapped his arms around her tiny figure and whispered in her ear, "Ashiteru."*

His breath on her ear was surprising, but not as surprising as the message. Cagalli turned around in his arms and gave out a sigh. She rested her head on his chest. "I love you too." She mumbled.

"By the way, I like the gown." Athrun smirked. Cagalli looked down at her attire. She had forgotten all about it. She looked back up at Athrun.

"You have five seconds." Cagalli stated. That was Athrun's cue to run, which he did. "Five….Four…...ThreeTwoOne." Athrun's five seconds were up.

Then a loud scream rang throughout the house. **"ATHRUN! YOU'RE DEAD!**

I hoped you like my story. It's my first oneshot so I hope I did well.

*In case you didn't figure it out by the context clue, it means I love you.

Thanks for reading my story. Hope you liked it! XD. Please review but no flames, only constructive criticism. And please tell me if I missed something with grammar or spelling. I would like to fix it immediately. Thank you!


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